According to tradition, decorations are traditionally taken down by Twelfth Night to avoid bad luck.

But council bosses in Hackney must be oblivious to superstition after missing the deadline by nearly a month.

The Christmas tree - which was today still standing outside Hackney Town Hall - has attracted ridicule from residents who are calling on the council to remove it immediately.

Many said the lights should be taken down and criticised the council, which is being forced to make millions of pounds in cuts amid Government budget cuts, for wasting money on continuing to light the tree at night.

Magnus Albertsen, 20, a student from Hackney, said: “They should get rid of it because it’s not Christmas anymore.

“Council tax is pretty annoying. A Christmas tree is not what I want to pay for, I would rather pay for more bins and stuff like that.”

Yasemin Acca, 17, a student from Shoreditch, said: “It’s time they took it down, we’re going into February now, it looks ridiculous.

“It’s a waste of money that they could be using to do better stuff.”

However, others said they liked the lights which they said provide extra “cheer” on dark nights in the style of “winter lights” common in other European countries.

Hilary Cornwell, 24, who works in publicity, said: “I quite like it, it’s not particularly festive, it’s just nice winter lights. It brings a little extra cheer in the evening.”

A Hackney council spokeswoman said: “The tree is there all year round - it’s a planted tree and has been there for some years.

“The lights are up from November until early February to celebrate Christmas and Hindu and Jewish festivals.”